KMR Sport’s Alex O’Grady secured his first GB4 Championship race win at Oulton Park, in one of the most dramatic races held in the series history on Saturday.
Following a dry qualifying, which netted a double pole for Hillspeed’s championship leader Daniel Guinchard, steady rain in the minutes before the race resulted in a tyre lottery, with the front-runners opting for slick Pirellis while those behind opted for treaded rubber.
The wet weather runners saw massive rewards when the race got underway, with O’Grady winning from sixth on the grid, Luca Magnussen second from 11th and Enzo Hallman third from 17th!
Qualifying
All seemed relatively straightforward earlier in the day, as Guinchard continued his pre-event testing form to storm to a double pole position in the 15-minute qualifying session.
Hillspeed’s Silverstone race winner set a time of 1m34.806s with five minutes remaining, and while Elite’s Alex Kattoulas ran him close, the margin being just 0.039s, he wasn’t able to beat Guinchard’s benchmark.
Kattoulas looked on course to at least secure race two pole, based on each driver’s second quickest times, but a late lap from Guinchard almost matched his outright best, and double pole was wrapped up.
Behind Guinchard and Kattoulas came the second Elite of Ary Bansal, who belied a lack of pre-event testing due to exams to go third, just ahead of Fortec’s Jack Taylor. Hillspeed’s Leandro Juncos and Elite’s Isaac Phelps completed the top-six, though the latter took a three place grid penalty into race one, meaning O’Grady was moved up a position on the grid.
Race one
As the clouds thickened during the afternoon, the first spots of rain fell while the GB4 field assembled in the pre-grid area, leading to varied strategy calls ahead of the race. The top-five on the grid all remained with slick Pirellis, while O’Grady was the lead contender on wets.
That strategy call was vindicated within seconds of the start, as O’Grady blasted from sixth to the lead exiting Cascades on the opening lap, while Guinchard and co at the front quickly slipped backwards.
O’Grady’s lead at the end of the first tour was approaching six seconds, while Magnussen and Pace Performance’s Stefan Bostandjiev moved into second and third. Bostandjiev lost that position on lap two to O’Grady’s teammate Megan Bruce, who had started 19th, but the safety car was soon deployed with two cars stranded in the gravel in separate locations.
When the race resumed, there was still time for three racing laps, with O’Grady and Magnussen maintaining their early pace to pull away at the front. Meanwhile, Hallman was the driver to keep an eye on, from 17th on the grid, he was running fifth by the time the safety car was deployed, and quickly moved past Bostandjiev to take fourth. With Bruce in his sights, he moved past at Old Hall on the final lap to clinch the final podium spot, behind Magnussen, with O’Grady winning by 2.5 seconds.
The top-six was completed by Bruce, Bostandjiev and Arden’s Leon Wilson.
Race one winner O’Grady said: "I don't get why no one in front of us went on wets because it was raining on the pre-grid! Then it got heavier as the race went on so we made the right decision. I made a brilliant start, I gained five places in two corners, so it was the perfect race, and I'm really happy. I managed to keep it on the track and finally win.
"It was quite sketchy on the opening lap, and I've never driven this car in the rain so I was just learning constantly and finding out where the grip is. As the race went on I got more comfortable, but the safety car came out for a while, and there were only four minutes and a couple of laps until the end. I kept it on the track and did what I needed to do.
"It's been a big step up this weekend, even in the dry. Yesterday we were really quick. Quali wasn't great, but we've shown great pace, and it's nice to get the win finally."
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Oulton Park qualifying top-six:
1. Daniel Guinchard, Hillspeed, 1m34.806s
2. Alex Kattoulas, Elite Motorsport, +0.039s
3. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, +0.296s
4. Jack Taylor, Fortec Motorsports, +0.311s
5. Leandro Juncos, Hillspeed, +0.345s
6. Isaac Phelps, Elite Motorsport, +0.463s
Click here for full result
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Oulton Park race one top-six:
1. Alex O'Grady, KMR Sport, 8 laps
2. Luca Magnussen, Fortec Motorsports, +2.506s
3. Enzo Hallman, Douglas Motorsport, +4.151s
4. Megan Bruce, KMR Sport, +5.187s
5. Stefan Bostandjiev, Pace Performance, +8.466s
6. Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport, +16.675s
Click here for full results
GB4 Championship, drivers' championship standings after race seven of 21:
1. Daniel Guinchard, Hillspeed, 132pts
2. Alex Kattoulas, Elite Motorsport, 128pts
3. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, 127pts
4. Isaac Phelps, Elite Motorsport, 126pts
5. Alex O'Grady, KMR Sport, 97pts
6. Enzo Hallman, Douglas Motorsport, 92pts
Click here for full standings
GB4 Championship, teams' championship standings after race seven of 21:
1. Elite Motorsport, 310pts
2. Hillspeed, 221pts
3. Douglas Motorsport, 182pts
4. Graham Brunton Racing, 162pts
5. Fortec Motorsports, 149pts
6. KMR Sport, 138pts
Click here for full standings
For more championship information, visit www.gb-4.net